Komodo User Guide

Komodo FAQ

Komodo doesn't start

If Komodo doesn't start, there could be one of several issues.

  • Do you have a license installed?

Komodo needs a license to become functional. If you have a Beta release, we include a trial license with the package. If you have a final release (non-Beta), you can download a license from ActiveState.

  • Does your username have non-ASCII characters?

Komodo keeps your user preferences in an Application Data directory on Windows machines. For example, <installdir>\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo.

In Komodo 1.0 and earlier, Komodo did not understand non-ASCII characters in your username, so when Komodo looked for your preferences file during startup, Komodo got confused. This issue was fixed in Komodo 1.1 Beta 1.

  • Do you have Norton Anti-Virus (NAV) installed, or more specifically, the File System Realtime Protection feature enabled?

The problematic relationship between Komodo and Norton Anti-Virus' File System Realtime Protection feature is a known issue, which we are working to remedy. In the meantime, you can disable NAV Corp 7.5 FSRP before running Komodo, and then re-enable it after Komodo starts.

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I can't see my Projects Pane

The Project pane may be hidden.

To view the Project Pane, do one of the following:

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+P
or
  1. Click the middle of the vertical splitter bar (at the left margin of your Editor pane)
  2. Drag to the right.
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I can't see my Output pane

The Output pane appears below the Editor pane during debugging. If you can't see your Output pane, it may be hidden. 

To view your Output pane, do one of the following:

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+O

or

  1. Click the middle of the horizontal splitter bar (at the bottom margin of your Editor pane)
  2. Drag upwards.

For more information, see Debugging Programs

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I want to maximize my Editor pane

I like to see the Project, Files, and Output panes, but right now I want to maximize my Editor pane to get some coding done. How can I maximize my Editor pane?

To maximize your Editor pane, hide the other panes in the Komodo workspace:

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
    or
    Click the middle of the vertical splitter bar (at the left margin of your Editor pane) and drag to the left. This hides the Project Pane.
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+O
    or
    Click the middle of the horizontal splitter bar (at the bottom margin of your Editor pane) and drag down. This hides the Output pane.
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How do I know if I'm debugging?

When Komodo is debugging, the title of the Komodo Workspace includes an indication of the state of the debugger. If the debugger is running, the title looks similar to [pathname\filename] - ActiveState Komodo - Debugger is running. If the debugger has hit a breakpoint, the title looks similar to [pathname\filename] - ActiveState Komodo - Debugger is in Break Mode.

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How do I know if I'm editing?

You are editing any time you're not formally debugging. When Komodo is editing, the title of the Komodo Workspace is [pathname\filename] - ActiveState Komodo.

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How can I add command-line arguments to my program for debugging?

If you want to send add command-line arguments to your program for debugging, you can add these using the Debugger Launch Options dialog:

  1. Go to the Debug menu and select Start or press F5.
  2. In the Debugger Launch Options dialog, select the directory you want to begin debugging your program in. Click Browse and navigate to the appropriate directory.
  3. In the same Debugger Launch Options dialog, enter your command-line arguments. These are sent to the script and not to the interpreter. Separate the arguments with spaces.
  4. Click OK.
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Komodo crashes. What can I do?

If Komodo crashes, please create the following error log files, find the files, verify their contents and send them to us so we can determine what happened:

  • stderr.tmp
  • stdout.tmp

Step 1: Creating the error log files

To create the error logs on Windows:

  1. Go to the Start menu and select Run.
  2. Enter cmd
  3. In the command box, change to the Komodo directory. The default is C:\Program Files\Komodo-x.x, where "x.x" is the Komodo version.
  4. In the Komodo directory, enter Komodo -v and press Enter.
    This starts Komodo.
  5. Perform the task that caused the original Komodo error.
  6. Close Komodo, or let it crash.

This creates the error log files and puts them in a directory as indicated in the table in Step 2: Locating the error log files.

Note - If Komodo "cancelled" itself, open the Task Manager and close the Mozilla process.

To create the error logs on Linux:

  1. In the command box, change to the Komodo directory. The default is ~/.komodo.
  2. In the Komodo directory, enter Komodo -v and press Enter.
    This starts Komodo.
  3. Perform the task that Komodo didn't like.
  4. Close Komodo, or let it crash.

This creates the error log files and puts them in your ~/.komodo directory, as indicated in the table in Step 2: Locating the error log files.

Note - If Komodo cancelled itself, close the Mozilla process.

To close the Mozilla process on Linux:

  1. Run ps ux to identify the Mozilla process id.
  2. Run kill <process id> to close that process.

Step 2: Locating the error log files

Komodo stores the error log files in a directory beneath the Application Data directory. The location of this directory varies according to the version of Windows, and whether or not User Profiles are enabled on your system. Use the following table as a guide for the file location. In the examples below, "x.x" refers to the version of Komodo that you are using.

System Location or, if User Profiles is enabled,
Windows XP C:\Windows\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x
Windows 2000 C:\Windows\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x
Windows NT C:\Windows\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x C:\WINNT\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x
Windows Me C:\Windows\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x C:\Windows\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x
Windows 98 C:\Windows\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x C:\Windows\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x
Windows 95 C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\ActiveState\Komodo\x.x
Linux ~/.komodo n/a

Step 3: Verifying and sending the files to ActiveState

To send the error log files to ActiveState:

  1. Locate the files.
  2. Verify that the files are not blank by viewing them with a text editor.
  3. Send them to ActiveState with a description of what happened just before the crash. Email both files as attachments to Komodo-feedback@ActiveState.com.
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Why is Komodo so big?

Because Komodo is built on the Mozilla framework, it is necessary for us to include the Mozilla build that exactly matches the development version of Komodo. For that reason, even if you have Mozilla on your system, Komodo installs the Mozilla version that it requires.

Another sizeable component of Komodo is language support. Komodo is so tightly integrated with Perl, Python and PHP that it is necessary to include components of those languages, at specific version levels, for debugger and editor support.

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I already have Mozilla. Why do I need to have two versions?

When we develop Komodo, we base our work on a specific version of the code base. During the development process, we upgrade the level of Mozilla used by Komodo, but this process requires considerable testing to ensure that no functionality is lost. Additionally, we add some custom components to the Mozilla tree that are used by Komodo. For these reasons, we include Mozilla in the Komodo distribution, and recommend that you do not replace the Mozilla version included with Komodo with a later Mozilla version.

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I'm having trouble debugging PHP. What do I do?

See PHP Debugger Troubleshooting.

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I moved my Komodo installation on Linux, and am now getting Perl debugging errors.

On Linux, you cannot relocate an existing Komodo installation to a new directory. You must uninstall Komodo from the existing location and reinstall it in the new location. See Uninstalling Komodo on Linux for instructions.

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How do I prevent the dialog from displaying every time I start the debugger?

To prevent the debugger dialog from appearing each time you start the debugger, hold down the Ctrl key when you start the debugger. (For example, press Ctrl+F5 rather than F5 to start debugging.)

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Why do I get a CGI security alert when debugging PHP?

The CGI security alert only occurs when you compile PHP with --enable-cgi-force-redirect. That compilation directive forces PHP to check if it is being run as a CGI by looking at environment variables commonly available only under a CGI environment. If they exist, it looks for another environment variable that is reliably available ONLY under Apache, REDIRECT_STATUS (or HTTP_REDIRECT_STATUS under Netscape/iPlanet). If that environment varialbe does not exist, the security alert is generated.

To run your compilation of PHP under Komodo with CGI emulation, you have to add a CGI environment variable called REDIRECT_STATUS with any value.

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Why does "php -m" list Active Debugger as PHP Module and not a Zend Module?

There is a bug in PHP 4.1.x where no zend module listings were being displayed.

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When I use XSLT extensions, Komodo reports missing Java extensions and debugging fails.

This version of Komodo does not support XSLT debugging extensions. If this is an important piece of functionality for you, please let us know via Komodo-feedback@ActiveState.com. Our development priorities are determined by customer feedback.

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I'm using Windows 98. When I start Komodo, I get the error "Page fault in MSVCRT.DLL".

If your system generates the above error when starting Komodo, you should install the latest "critical" fixes for Windows 98. Use the Windows Update utility to download and install the upgrade packages, or refer to the Microsoft Support web site.

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The Getting Started page says that a language that is installed on my system is not available. Why?

In order for Komodo to detect the presence of a language installed on your system, the location of the language interpreter must be specified in your system's PATH environment variable. If the Komodo Getting Started page says that a language is "Not Functional", or if the Komodo Preferences say that the language interpreter is not found on your system, check that the interpreter is specified in your PATH.

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